Self-lifting car elevator



Jan. 16, 1951 J. G. HAYDEN SELF-LIFTING CAR ELEVATOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 22, 1948 Jan. 16, 1951 J. G. HAYDEN SELF-LIFTING CAR ELEVATOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR J/zn Gffaydezz BY Filed July 22, 1948 ATTORNEYS Jan. 1%, 191 J. G.'HAYDEN SELFLIFTING CAR ELEVATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 22, 1948 ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 15, 1951 UNITED STATES. ear

T FFICE 13 Claims. 1

This invention reiatesto'mechanism for lifting a. motor vehicle to. such an elevation; that another vehicle may be parked beneath. the raised one.. Thezinventionsrelates .more particularly to the type in ,WhlChthB lifting-power issupplied by the engine of-the vehicle beinglifted and-involves certain. improvements over that. shown and claimedin my prior application Ser. No. 781,912, filed Octo 2.4; 1947, now abandon-ed.

In-that. type of. construction-there is, provided a platformonwhich the car may be driven, vertical post members. at opposite corners andadjacent' to opposite, ends for coacting with lifting mechanism. and forv guiding; the platformin. its raising and lowering, movements, and means driven from. a. rear; wheel of sin-automobile for actuating the mechanism forraising-the platform and car vertically along said g-uides.

As one feature of my improved construction, cables arevdisposed at thefour cornersof the platform .and are pulled or slackened by a single mechanism so, as to prevent any possible tilting of the platform due to any heavier loading at one end or at one side than at the other.

As a-further feature, the cables each have, an end secured tothe platform and have a loop which may be extended to thereby shorten effective lengths ofthe cables and thereby liftthe elevator. 7

As a further feature, the lifting force issupplied by hydraulic means, the liquid pressure being developed by a pump on the platform and driven from the engine on the car being lifted and the. pressure may becontrolled to vary the speedof the car lift in respect to the. car engine speed.

As a further feature, the operating connections between the cables and the hydraulic means are so designed and arranged that asingle pistonstroke of the hydraulic power transmitter effects the lifting of the car to the desired elevation even;though said stroke is only a fraction of the distance through which the car is lifted.

Asafurther feature, theraising andlowering arecontrolled by a valve in'the path of the liquid employed in the hydraulic cylinder whereby the raising, lowering and holding of the platform in a desired position are effected by theloperation of a single valve. 7

Various other features of novelty and importance. will be pointed out hereinafter in connection with a description of a preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying. drawings;

In-the drawings:

Fig.1v isa side elevation of'jthe mechanism with.a car. in place and illustrating in dotted lines the platform and a car in" raised position;

Fig. 2. is a plan view; Fig. 31s 'a view similar to a portion ofFig: 2 but on a larger scale;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of'certainofithe parts shown inFig. l and'on a larger scale; and" Eig. 51 is a section on the line'5;51 ofFig: 3;

In the form illustrated; .there are provided'four vertical guides is, illa, Nib and lfi'c which may be I-beams or channels-and which are connected inside pairsby frame members I l which may, if desired, be. parts of the support of an upperdeck or an upper floor on to which the car may be moved after being. raised. Between the two-side pairs of vertical guides is the platform H. on .to which the car may be driven and .which is. raised .to lift the car through a distance at least a little greater than the car height, and, if. desired, to thelevel of an upper fiooror deck. The platform includes transverse beams it which have their ends vertically slidablealong and guided Icy-the vertical guide posts. it. These transverse members 12 support the body of the platform Whichcarries most of the carlifting-mechanism as well asthe car to. be lifted or lowered. Portions of the platformcomprise runways l l for thecar wheels and theends of these runways may" have inclined portions; l5l for guiding, the car: upon; to the platform.

The mechanism for effecting the lifting of the platform and the carfrom power developed on the car itselfincludes'a pump is. mounted .on the platformvan'dforminga portion of the-circuitof a substantially non-compressibleliquidz For drivingthe' pump from. one-or bothrear wheels of thecar, there are: provideda pair of rollers H and H S-0f appropriate length and spaced the proper distance apart for supporting one or both reanwheels. The rollersv are preferably connected by a belt is forstransmitting power from one roller-to the other and. fore-providing increased traction for thevehicle tire. The. pulley or roller ithas-its shaft is connected. by a;.fleXib1e,C0u-.- pling 25a to the pumplt above referred top This pump it has a-suction or inlet pipe: 21 leading from a sump tank'22- andia discharge pipe ffi leads tol a surge or pressure tank 24 from which the power. transmittingifiuid may flow to a cylinder 2? toeffect the raising ofthe platform. Preferably, the pipe 23 has valve. 25 connected byapipe-2t to the sump tanks The valve 25 may be an automatic pressure relief valve to-by-pass the liquid when thepiston here-- inafter referred to has been moved to the limiting extent, and in case the pump is still being operated. The cylinder 2'! has a piston 28 therein connected to a piston rod 28 and the cylinder and piston are so'proportioned that the piston stroke is about one-half of the range of vertical movement of the platform.

For controlling the flow of the fluid from the surge tank to the cylinder a pipe 29 leads from the surge tank 24 to a three-way valve 3% and from this valve the liquid may be delivered either through a pipe 3i to the cylinder 2? or through a pipe 32 back to the sump tank 22. The valve is preferably positioned at such an elevation above the platform and at such a point along the length of the platform that it is adjacent to the window on the drivers side of the vehicle,

as shown in Fig. 1. The valve has an operating The speed at which the platform is lifted may be controlled by the extent of movement of the valve. When it is desired to lower the platform,

the valve may be shifted to connect the pipes 3! and 32, and the weight of the platform and car will gradually force the liquid out of the cylinder ii and back through the valve to the sump tank. Here again the speed of lowering may be controlled by the proper positioning of the valve handle.

For utilizing the movement of the piston rod 23 for raising the car there are provided four cables 35, 35a, 35b and 350, anchored at the upper ends to the upper ends of their respective uprights, guides or columns it, Eta, Nib and H30. The cables extend down the uprights and around idlers 35, 35a, 35b and 360 journaled at the four corners of the platform, and then beneath the platform to idlers 3'! and 38 mounted beneath the platform and opposite to the end of the piston rod 28. Each idler 3i and 38 may have two grooves so that one idler engages the two cables at one side of the platform and the other idler engages the other two cables. The piston rod has a head 39 provided with pulleys as and M movable toward and from the pulleys 3'1 and 38.

The cables 35 and 35a at one side of the platform extend down the guides ill and PM, around the idlers 35 and 36a to the idler 38, thence around the pulley 4| to an anchor point d3. Similarly the cables 35b and 350 extend down the uprights or guides liib and E90, thence around the idlers 36b and 360, then around the idler 3'! and around the pulley ill to an anchor point 4 Obviously, the cables 35 and 35a may be integral at the anchor point is and the cables 35b and 350 also integral at the anchor point it. Thus it will be seen that the pulleys it and ii are in loops in the cable and a movement of the piston through a given distance will raise the platform twice that distance.

In the operation of the lifting mechanism, the

driver, by control of the engine, causes the pump 1 l6 to be driven from a rear wheel of the vehicle.

With the platform at rest, the liquid will be operator shifts the valve 33 so that the liquid delivered through the pipe 29 goes through the pipe 3! to the cylinder 21 instead of back to the sump tank. This causes the piston to move toward the right, as viewed in Fig. 3, and the head 39 will move the pulleys 4i! and 4| toward the right from the position shown in Fig. 3. As the cables are anchored at 43. and M, this movement. of the piston will shorten the effective lengths of the cables by an amount equal to twice the extent of movement of the pulleys 4i] and M and the piston. By forming an additional loop in the cable the ratio of platform lifting movement and piston movement may be further increased.

When the car has been lifted to the desired elevation, the valve 33 is moved to neutral position so that circulation of the fluid is stopped and the engine of the car is stopped. The car may be held in this raised position solely by this fluid pressure, as the check valve prevents return flow of the fluid. There is provided a brake which will prevent the rollers If and [8 from rotating, so that the car may be driven onto or off the platform. In the form illustrated, the shaft 213 of the roller l8 has a brake drum 46. The brake band 4? is anchored at one end and has its opposite end connected to a bell crank lever is which is connected by a rod 49 to a control lever 50. This hand lever 58 is preferably positioned closely adjacent to the valve handle 33, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the driver of the car may apply the brake when he stops his engine or operates the valve 33. With this brake applied, the-rollers IT and I8 cannot rotate, and the car may be readily driven off the platform when in lowered positiornor onto a second floor if the platform be in raised position.

From a consideration of the embodiment of the invention illustrated it will be noted that each of the cables is anchored at one end to the upper end of an upright and is anchored at the other end on the platform. The reciprocating member 28, in pulling on loops in the cable, shortens the effective length of the cables and lifts the car.

The liquid which is pumped is preferably an oil and the surge tank 24 contains a substantial amount of air or other compressibl gas. The pipe connections to this tank are at the bottom so that the air is trapped in the tank. During the lowering of the platform with a car thereon the return of the oil to the surge tank compresses the air to between 560 and 750 p. s. i. The brake is applied when the platform is in the lower position and before the car is removed from the platform. Therefore, after removin the car and shifting the valve til, the brake ll may be re leased and'the air pressure in the surge tank will be sufficient to force oil from the surge tank to the cylinder 2'! and raise the empty platform to the upper position where another car may be run on to the platform from an upper deck and lowered.

The rollers l6 :and Il are shown as supporting only one rear wheel of the car and the other rear wheel may engage a depression 55 in the platform to give increased resistance to the slipping of this wheel. If desired, the rollers IS and H may be made longer to support both rear Wheels.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A self-lifting car elevator, including corner uprights, a platform adapted to support the car and vertically guided by said uprights, rollers on said platform for supporting a driving wheel of a car, a pump driven by said rollers, cables suspended from the upper ends of said uprights, a cylinder having a piston connected to said pump, and means operated by said piston for shortening the effective means of said cables to thereby lift said elevator when said pump forces liquid into said cylinder.

2. A self-lifting car elevator, including corner uprights, a platform for supporting the car and vertically guided by said uprights, cables connecting said uprights and said platform for supporting the latter, a cylinder and a piston mounted on said platform, one being connected to said cables, 2. pump for forcing liquid into said cylin-' der to move said piston, means driven by a driving wheel of said car for operating said pump, and means connected to said piston for shortening the effective lengths of said cables and thereby lifting said platform.

3. A self-lifting car elevator, including a platform for supporting the car, cables suspended from above the corners of said platform, idlers at the corners of said platform and around which said cables extend, and means driven from a drivin wheel of a car on said platform for pulling said cables from said idlers and thereby lift ing said platform and the car.

4. A self-lifting car elevator, including a, platform for supporting the car, vertical uprights at opposite sides and adjacent to opposite ends of said platform, cables having their upper ends secured to the upper end of said uprightsQidlers on said platform and adjacent to said uprights and around which said cables extend, a hydraulic cylinder on said platform, a piston in said cylinder and connected to said cables and a pump for forcing fluid into said cylinder to move said piston, pull said cables from said idlers and thereby lift said platform.

5. A self-lifting car elevator, including a platform for supporting the car to be lifted, cables suspended from above said platform, idlers adjac'ent to the corners of said platform and around which said cables extend, each of said cables having a loop therein and the other end secured to the platform, a hydraulic cylinder on said platform, a piston having an idler engaging the loops of said cables, a pump for forcing fluid into said cylinder to move said piston and means for driving said pump from a driving wheel of the car.

6. A self-lifting car elevator, including a platform, idlers adjacent to the corners of said elevator, cables suspended from above said elevator and passing around said idlers, a hydraulic cylinder on said platform, a piston in said cylinder and having connected thereto an idler engaging a loop in each of said cables and means driven from a driving wheel of the vehicle for forcing non-compressible fluid into said cylinder, whereby the idler connected to said piston shortens the effective length of said cables and thereby lifts said platform.

7. A self-lifting car elevator, including a platform, cables having their upper ends suspended above said elevator and having their lower ends secured to said elevator, rollers around which said cables pass to form a loop in each, a hydraulic cylinder on said platform, a piston in said cylinder and having an idler engaging the loops in said cables and means driven by a driving wheel of said car for forcing liquid into said cylinder to thereby move said piston, shorten the effective length of said cables and lift said platform.

8. A car elevator including a car supporting platform, stationary uprights adjacent to each corner thereof, cables each having one end secured to the upper end of a corresponding upright and having the other end anchored on said platform, a pulley engaging loops in said cables and means operated from a driving wheel of an automobile on said platform for moving said pulleys to extend loops in said cables and lift said platform.

9. A car elevator including a car supporting platform, uprights adjacent to each corner thereof, a plurality of cables each having one end secured to the upper end of an upright and the other end secured to said platform, a pair of pulleys between which loops in said cables are formed and means operated from the driving wheel of an automobile on said platform for extending said loops and thereby lifting said platform.

10. A car elevator including a car supporting platform, four cables each having one end anchored above said platform and the other end secured to said platform, idlers between which loops of each of said cables extend, a reciprocating member on said platform and connected to all of said loops and means operated from the driving wheel of an automobile on said platform for moving said member to extend said loops and thereby lift said platform.

11. A car elevator including a car supporting platform, four cables each having one end anchored above said platform and the other end secured to said platform, a cylinder and plunger on said platform, one having operative connection to said loops, and means operated by a driving wheel of an automobile on said platform for forcing a fluid into said cyl nder to'effect relative movement of said cylinder and plunger and the lifting of said platform.

12. A car elevator including a car supporting platform, a air of rollers on said platform for supporting a driving wheel of the car, a hydraulic cyl nder and piston on said platform. means driven by said rollers for pumping liquid into said cylinder, means connected to said piston for raising said platform, a brake for said rollers, and means operable by an occupant of said car for operating said brake and for controlling the flow of sa d liquid to said cylinder.

13. A car elevator including a vertically movable car supporting platform, a hydraulic cylinder on said platform, a piston therein, cables for lifting said platform and operatively connected to said piston, a sump tank, a surge tank containing a liquid and a as, a pump for forcing liquid from said sump tank to said surge tank to compress said gas therein, means for operating said pump from a driving wheel of a car on said platform, and a manually operable valve for controlling the flow of liquid from said surge tank to said cylinder.

JOHN G. HAYDEN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Seck Apr. 14, 1914 Number 

